R&R...

My friends...

It has been a while, and for that I apologise. I tried to write something the other day but I suffered the bloggers (can't believe I just used that word) equivalent of writers block. Since I last spoke to you things have taken a turn for the more unpredictable. Which is saying something when you live in Sudan.

If you've been paying attention to the news (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8616249.stm), you will know that this week is a very significant week for Sudan as they are holding their first elections in a long time. For this reason (and because, when it comes down to it, it's not really any of our business), it was decided that now would be a good time for everyone at Doro to come out to Kenya for a bit of a break.

We got wind of this idea at lunchtime last Tuesday, with a plane scheduled to pick us up at lunchtime on Wednesday, this is the same plane that I told you was due to bring us a whole host of building supplies for the new clinic. As a result of this we had a rather frantic 24 hours of getting ready to leave which included plenty of packing, lots of goodbyes, a little bit of wandering around not knowing what to do and a foray into the Sudanese bush on a quadbike, (during which Maruti & I got lost, and were faced with this scene:


at one point I wondered if we were going to make it back for the plane, but we did, after a stop of at a wedding for a cup of tea), This was followed by an even more frantic hour of unloading all the building supplies off the plane before leaving. It probably doesn't sound it, but it was a lot of fun.

And so, I was reunited with Peter (the guy in the backround of my profile picture, who is working with SIM at nearby Yabus), and the rest of the SIM Sudan team, and we set off for Kenya, the land of supermarkets, taxis, cinemas and unlimited internet access. Here we are, on the plane:


Not content with this however, Peter and I headed off to Ethiopia for a few days to visit a friend and experience some authentic Ethiopian culture such as this:


and this:


On Sunday, we joined Theresa at one of the most startling church services I've ever attended, it felt like walking on to some show on the God Channel. The message was given by the former MP and British Ambassador to South Africa, Paul Boateng, which was a nice touch.

Tomorrow, the plan is to head west to Uganda, to visit another friend in Kampala. I feel like I should balance all this out with some tales of hardship and hardwork, lest you get the impression that this missionary gig is nothing but a fun filled grand tour of Africa, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything. When I do, I'll let you know. So instead, I shall finish with an anecdote:

The other day, while I was still in Sudan, I was chatting with a friend of mine over coffee, this guy is about my age and I asked him what happened when the war came to his village, in the mid 90's. He told me that they rounded up all the men in the village, locked them in a house and set it on fire, while he and others stood on watching. "My friend, that was a terrible sound". Indeed. That is the kind of background these guys are coming from, it doesn't bear thinking about.

The most positive thing I can say about my time in Sudan though, is that I was genuinely sorry to leave, and I am really looking forward to getting back, in spite of stories such as that one, that frequently leave me lost for words...

And there you have it, no tales of killing exotic animals, or anything even remotely amusing. I shall try to do better next time. Perhaps Uganda will prove to be a better source of comedy experiences...